Awareness of G-d, humility before His Presence and speaking with sincer­ity, lead to a real experi­ence of the Divine.[2] The first step is to know one stands before G-d. Prayer, says the holy Zohar, is not just glib supplication. Neither is it just a medi­ta­tion on G-d. It is an opportunity to come close to G-d, to enter His Palace.[3] The initial emo­tion, therefore, should be יראה – Yir’oh, awe that results from an aware­ness of His Pres­ence.[4]

ולשוואה רעותיה בההוא אתר דאקרי יראה – “Set your focus, de­sire and yen on that place called ‘awe’ [yir’oh],” says the Zohar. Awe leads to hachno’oh, subju­gation and humility. This humility automatically leads to a separation from the physical, havdoloh, which in turn gives rise to pure truth and deveikuth– hamtoqoh (‘sweeten­ing’), the three stages outlined by the Ba’al Shem Tov.

Focusing on G-d increases the level of Divine Presence before you. With emo­tional aware­ness, you make a new covenant with G-d, bonding your soul with the Di­vine Pres­ence.

G-d resides where man removes his ego for Him. That is what awareness is about. It is making a sanctuary for G-d in our heart, a place of boundaries, separated from the outside world and one’s own ego-driven desires.

[2] This excerpt from­ Tanna D’vei Eli­yohu can itself be used as a medita­tion: either by repeating the phrase, or by meditating on the words or on their ideas, or by meditating on the letters, manipulating them and their gematrias. For example, the words “ירא שמים yerei Shomayim – one who fears Heaven” [i.e. is strongly conscious of] can be used as a medi­tation. Slowly repeat the words “ירא שמים yerei Shomayim – one who fears Heaven”. This will bring the message inherent in these words, and your consciousness, to the level of the subconscious. Rabbi Avrohom Abulafia says that by repeating a phrase, hitherto un­known facets of meaning will become apparent. Alter­natively, one can work with ge­ma­trias. For example, “ירא שמים yerei Shomayim” has the same gema­triah as “מודה על האמת modeh ul hoemeth – agreeing with the truth”, indicating that fear of Heaven is connected at a core level with being in harmony with truth.

Meditating on the ideas, one might see that the three elements included in this phrase corre­spond to the three daily prayers, or to the three forefa­thers, etc. This is another way to deepening your awareness.

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